The Boy Who Grew a Forest is a lyrical picture book biography of Jadav Payeng. As a boy, Payeng witnessed erosion and forest loss. His response was to quietly begin planting trees in a sandbar in a river. As the back matter explains, “In 2008, almost thirty years after he planted his first seedlings, Jadav’s forest was discovered by local authorities.” His forest covers over 1,300 acres.
The Boy Who Grew a Forest tells the story by showing problem after problem that Payeng faced, and then showing how he resolved the problems. We see him watering newly planted trees by hand, and then setting up a watering system. We see him working to enrich the soil so that more plants will survive. We see him dealing with local fear and anger when his plantings began to attract predators like tigers and huge animals, like hungry elephants.
While the book shows Payeng dealing with problems, it also shows him slowly growing from the young boy who started planting trees to the man who is today the custodian of the forest. I love that the book embraces the truth that the problem of environmental degradation requires slow and steady work. I also love that it embraces the truth that the small acts children take can have far-reaching consequences.
The language in the book is lovely, lyrical and easy to read aloud. It is structured to show a problem, and how Payeng addressed the problem, over and over and over.
“If he wanted more plants to grow, he would have to create a richer soil. The boy carried cow dung, earthworms, termites, and angry red ants that bit him on the journey to their new home.”
“Fear swept over the villages when tigers arrived. So the man planted more grasses to attract small animals that would keep the tigers happy in the forest.”
It has been especially sweet to me to read this beautiful book because Sophia is one of my critique partners and I got to see early versions of this story. Back when I originally saw it, the story was already obviously a fantastic topic, and she had wonderful detail.
But as I read this final, much-revised text, I am reminded again of how much the revision process does to shape and craft and polish stories. It was a great story before, but this book is a gem, polished, gleaming, and ready-to-share with kids.
The Boy Who Grew a Forest: The True Story of Jadav Payeng by Sophia Gholz, illustrated by Kayla Harren. (Sleeping Bear Press: 2019).
It’s on my list! And it sounds/looks wonderful, Annette. What small things people do that turn into great ones! I’m really looking forward to this one. It is kin to the Conservancy of the late W.S. Merwin. Thanks!